The first balls were made from natural materials, such as an inflated pig’s bladder, which was then placed inside a leather lining, giving rise to the American slang term “pigskin”. That’s why in the late 1800s, when American football began to take shape, balls were made from rubber and cowhide (aka leather). In the early 19th century, flasks were skin-covered blisters.
Footballs are made with cowhides that have been sewn together in a firm form; they are no longer made from pig skins. Footballs meant for younger players are typically created with rubber and synthetic materials. Footballs are made in factories where machines sew the materials together.
There have been experiments with natural rubber balls, but they bounced too high to be used in football matches. This allowed the production of inflatable rubber bladders for leather soccer balls. Modern football was made possible by Charles Goodyear’s invention of vulcanized rubber in the 1800s. Vulcanization makes the rubber resilient and resilient, allowing it to be used as an inflatable bladder in the center of a soccer ball.
The Materials Commonly Used to Make Footballs
Balls in use today combine a latex bladder with a synthetic leather outer shell. By comparison, a modern soccer ball is an inflated rubber bladder wrapped in pebble-grained leather or cowhide. Modern balls used in college games and professional leagues are made from leather.
Balls still have an inner tube, but today they are made from polyurethane or rubber. The balls are made from rubber blisters, cowhide and special stitching, among other materials. Balls used in recreational activities and organized youth leagues may be made of rubber or plastic (high school football rules still allow cheap all-rubber balls, although they are less common than leather ones).
Horween supplies leather for other uses to Nike, Under Armor and adidas, but only the Wilson factory turns this synthetic leather into official soccer balls, according to USA Today. Wilson makes its patented soccer balls from leather sourced from Chicago’s Horween Leather Company, one of America’s oldest tanneries. Wilson has been using Horween leather for their official NFL soccer balls for over 50 years.
Wilson as a Primary Manufacturer of Footballs
Since 1941, Wilson has been supplying the official NFL game ball, and since 1955 these balls have been laced and marked at a single manufacturing facility in Ada, Ohio. The NFL balls used in every Super Bowl since 1967 are made from polyurethane or rubber and are manufactured by Wilson Sporting Goods in Ada, Ohio.
Pieces of leather are stitched together to form balls at Wilson Sporting Goods Co. in Ada, Ohio. Manufacturers also commonly print leather panels with a grainy texture to help players grip the ball.
The top layer is PU-coated foam, a smooth material that prevents scratches on the ball. Rollers are used to press these layers together so that they do not separate.
Each Wilson ball is sewn with 250 stitches and is also hand sewn. Wilson has been the official manufacturer of all NFL footballs since 1941 and has worked to improve the ball with innovations such as hand-sewn ends, triple lining and plain stitching. Wilson has been producing official NFL football in Ada, Ohio, since 1955.
Wilson’s factory was built in 1955, and every NFL football that has been used since then has been made right here in Ada. Since 1941, the Wilson Sporting Goods Company, now based in Chicago, Illinois, has been the official ball manufacturer of the National Football League (NFL). All balls intended for professional use are stamped with the “NFL” stamp of the National Football League, as well as the signature of the league commissioner.
Further Logistics on the Production of Footballs
In addition to the game balls that teams work with throughout the week and provide to referees before a game, Wilson ships a box of play-approved balls to the referee team’s hotel before each game.
About two dozen people are involved in the production of each balloon, and the factory processes up to 3,000 balloons every day, so Wilson has appointed an employee to follow our balloons in the process from station to station. The worker shown here has worked at Wilson for over two decades and can pack a ball in less than eight seconds.
Factory workers do not use high technology; they use mid-1900s sewing machines and sew the strings entirely by hand. Soccer balls are the only product manufactured at the Wilsons Ada factory, and the process has remained virtually unchanged since 1941.
Balls made today are not made from pigskin, but many are also made from cowhide or other animal hides. Ironically, all professional and college football these days are actually made of cowhide leather, although they are still called “pigskins.” Recreational and youth balls, on the other hand, are usually made of synthetic or vulcanized rubber. In the United States and Canada, the term soccer usually refers to the cowhide balls required in professional and college football.
How the Progenitors to Footballs Were Made
The game uses a round leather soccer ball, consisting of 18 stitched leather panels, similar in appearance to a traditional volleyball (but larger), with a circumference of 68-70 cm (27-28 inches), weighing 480-500 g (17-18 ounces) dry. In the early stages of football, a pig’s bladder was inflated and used as a ball. When balloons were first made, they were inflated (rough) animal bladders stuffed with things like straw to keep them in place.
Of course, throwing an inflated organ got messy, so these early balloons were wrapped in leather to keep them clean. Over time, leather overlays were added to strengthen the balls and make them easier to handle.
The mathematically ordered shape created a ball that was more round than ever, as well as consistently round, without the bulges and warps that plagued early soccer balls.
The outer panels of the ball were made from tanned leather for added durability. In the 1970s, leather balls were covered with a special polyurethane preparation that prevented the absorption of water during matches. The introduction of synthetic materials meant that soccer balls absorb far less water than leather balls.
Innovations in Football Design
Luckily for all of us, inflated balloons have rarely been used in game development, giving way to the modern balls we play on the beach today. Long before the invention of American football and the creation of the NFL, balls were swollen pig bladders.
The first football matches in Britain were played with swollen bladders of animals. In the 1860s, Australian football pioneer Tom Wills claimed that the oval rugby ball traveled farther through the air and made the game more exciting.
Spaulding Sports Worldwide, based in Chicopee, Massachusetts, takes credit for manufacturing the first American football in 1892. Football technology has advanced a lot in recent years. I’m sure at some point a new material or manufacturing process will come along that will change the way footballs are made again.
But turning leather into a soccer ball is a complex process, and we won’t know if our balls have been cut until the last step, when they’ve been inflated to 13 psi, and the right air pressure will reveal any flaws that might be inside.